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From today's featured article Eraserhead is a 1977 American surrealist body horror film written and directed by filmmaker David Lynch. Shot in black-and-white, it is Lynch's first feature-length film, coming after several short works. Starring Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Jeanne Bates, Judith Anna Roberts, Laurel Near, and Jack Fisk, it tells the story of Henry Spencer (Nance), who is left to care for his grossly deformed child in a desolate industrial landscape. Eraserhead spent several years in principal photography because of the difficulty of funding the film. It was produced with the assistance of the American Film Institute during the director's time studying there, and donations from Fisk and his wife Sissy Spacek kept production afloat. Lynch and sound designer Alan Splet spent a year working on the film's audio. Eraserhead earned positive reviews, especially for its intricate sound design, but only gained popularity after several long runs as a midnight movie. Its surrealist imagery and sexual undercurrents have been seen as key thematic elements. In 2004 the film was preserved in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. (Full article...) Recently featured: Quietly Confident Quartet Final Fantasy Type-0 Hurricane Charley (1986) Did you know... Runnals Union ... that in 1959 the Women's Union at Colby College was renamed Runnals Union (pictured) in honor of Ninetta May Runnals, the college's first Dean of Women? ... that believers of Rulaizong use the phrase "Thanking Master, Praising Master" to praise the founder of the religion? ... that during the Nazi era, World War I flying ace Edmund Nathanael was deleted from the list of Hohenzollern honorees? ... that the church of San Sebastiano de Via Papae was reputed to mark the site where Saint Sebastian's body was pulled out of a sewer? ... that Filipina feminist Concepción Felix founded A Drop of Milk to train maternity nurses and provide sterile milk to malnourished infants? ... that the South African national anthem was played before their first rugby test match since being banned for apartheid, despite an agreement with Nelson Mandela's ANC that it would not be? ... that Erica Deichmann created over 5,000 glazes for Deichmann pottery? ... that during rehearsals of the 1982 album Forever Now, producer Todd Rundgren tried to energise The Psychedelic Furs with exploding firecrackers?

In the news Flydubai Boeing 737-800 involved in crash Flydubai Flight 981 (aircraft pictured) crashes while attempting to land at Rostov-on-Don Airport, Russia, killing all 62 people on board. Salah Abdeslam is arrested in Molenbeek, Belgium, in connection with the November 2015 Paris attacks. Marcel Hirscher and Lara Gut win the overall titles in the Alpine Skiing World Cup. Andrew Wiles wins the Abel Prize for his proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. An explosion in Ankara, Turkey, kills 37 people and injures at least 125 others. At least 18 people are killed in shootings at a beach resort in Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast. Google DeepMind's AlphaGo computer program wins a series against Lee Sedol, one of the world's best Go players. Ongoing events: Zika virus outbreak European migrant crisis Recent deaths: Guido Westerwelle Meir Dagan Paul Daniels On this day... March 19: Father's Day in various countries; St Joseph's Day (Western Christianity) Clara Zetkin 1279 – Emperor Bing, the last emperor of the Song dynasty, died during the Battle of Yamen, bringing the dynasty to an end after three centuries. 1911 – Socialist German politician Clara Zetkin (pictured) established the first International Women's Day. 1941 – The Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-African American unit of the United States Army Air Corps, was activated. 1962 – Highly influential American musician Bob Dylan released his eponymous debut album. 2008 – The gamma-ray burst GRB 080319B, the farthest object that could be seen by the naked eye, was observed. More anniversaries: March 18 March 19 March 20

Today's featured picture Wells Cathedral, an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, as viewed from the reflecting pool in the grounds of the Bishop's Palace. The cathedral, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle, is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. The present cathedral, built from 1175 to 1490, replaced an earlier church built on the site in 705. Its architecture is in the Gothic style, mostly the Early English Gothic of the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Photograph: Rod Ward Recently featured: Mary I of England Armenian illuminated manuscript Platoon sergeant

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